Fact Check: 2018 video of Mohan Bhagwat praising Congress for freedom movement falsely peddled as recent

After polling in five of the seven voting phases in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a video of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat praising the Congress party for its significant role in India’s freedom movement is circulating on social media. The claim accompanying the video suggests that Bhagwat has suddenly started praising the Congress party in response to shifting political sentiments in the current general elections.

“People in our country have limited political understanding. Political awareness is essential because citizens should recognise who holds power and its significance. This is why a great movement in the form of the Congress party developed, producing prominent personalities who continue to inspire us today. That movement managed to inspire ordinary people to join the freedom struggle. It had a huge role in us achieving Independence,” Bhagwat is heard saying in the video.

A premium user who shared the video on X (archive) wrote, “Oh My Godse. Why is Mohan Bhagwat suddenly praising the Congress Party and its founding members all of a sudden? Winds of Change in the air…”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading as the video is from an RSS outreach program organised in 2018.

In the viral clip, we noticed the logo of Hindustan Times and the date September 17, 2018, flashing on the top left corner. Using these cues, we ran a keyword search and found it published on the newspaper’s YouTube channel on September 18, 2018. The video title read, “Congress played an important role in India's freedom struggle, says Mohan Bhagwat.”

According to the channel, on September 18, 2018, RSS organised a three-day lecture series led by its supremo, Mohan Bhagwat, in the national capital. During his speech at the event, Bhagwat acknowledged the significant role the Congress party played in the freedom movement and highlighted that it produced many great personalities for India.

NDTV carried the Bhawat’s statement in a video report published on September 18, 2018, titled “Mohan Bhagwat Opens RSS Outreach Event With Rare Praise For Congress.”

According to the channel, Bhawat had opened a three-day conclave in Delhi with a rare conciliatory tone for one of its harshest critics. He had praised the Congress party for the freedom movement and giving birth to great scarifying personalities.

The Indian Express, India Today, and The Times of India also reported this rare statement by Bhagwat in 2018.

Hence, we conclude that the video in question is around seven years old. The claim that the RSS chief has suddenly started praising the Congress party amid the ongoing general elections is misleading.